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New radar analysis prompts shift in search zone

A Thai satellite has detected about 300 objects floating in the Indian Ocean a day after a French satellite showed that 122 objects were floating near the search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner.

New radar analysis prompts shift in search zone

A Thai satellite spotted about 300 objects in the Indian Ocean this week, as officials seach that part of the world for wreckage from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. (March 27)
Video provided by AP
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Mahi Ramakrishnan, Special for USA TODAY
1:03 a.m. EDT March 28, 2014

Flight Lieutenant Jayson Nichols looks out the cockpit of an Australian air force Orion aircraft while searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 over the southern Indian Ocean on March 27.(Photo: Michael Martina, epa)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Australian officials shifted their search for the missing Malaysian jetliner by nearly 700 miles, citing "a new credible lead'' about the path of the aircraft and where debris may be located.

Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Air Transport Safety Bureau, said a revised analysis of radar data prompted the agency to refocus the search in the Indian Ocean off Perth. The analysis indicates that the plane was flying faster than previously estimated between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca before radar contact was lost, Dolan said.

Based on that new speed data, analysts calculated increased fuel usage and a reduced distance the aircraft could have covered with power.

The new search area is approximately 198,000 square miles in size and 1,150 miles west of Perth, John Young, manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's emergency response division said. The move, about 685 miles to the northeast of the previous search area, was based on updated advice from an international investigation team working with the search, Young said.

The new location is also based on an assessment by Australian experts, the United States Coast Guard and commercial companies that took into account the weather and the drift any wreckage would be expected to have taken in the 21 days since the plane went missing.

All of these calculations are best estimates and, "will remain a somewhat inexact science," Dolan cautioned.

A map is displayed at the Australian Maritime Services Authority showing the new search area in the Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Canberra, Australia, Friday.(Photo: Alan Porritt, epa)

Young said the team had "moved on" from the previous search area and that the hunt for the missing plane was no longer active there.

Ten aircraft from six countries are being deployed to the new search area, Young said. Four of them are already in the vicinity and six more will arrive later on Friday.

The search area to the north is not expected to face the same rough weather that forced several delays in the hunt for debris further to the south.

Earlier, a Thai satellite detected about 300 objects floating in the Indian Ocean a day after a French satellite showed that 122 objects were floating near the search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner.

Anond Snidvongs, director of Thailand's space technology development agency, said Thursday that the images showed "300 objects of various sizes" in the southern Indian Ocean about 1,675 miles southwest of Perth.

Anond said the objects were about 125 miles from the area where a French satellite Sunday spotted 122 objects. It remains uncertain whether the objects are from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared March 8 with 239 people aboard.

For the first time in several weeks, Malaysian officials decided not to hold a daily news conference Thursday.

Earlier, searchers aboard planes and ships on Thursday failed to find any of the objects captured by satellite as possible debris from the downed Malaysian airlines jet, as heavy rain, winds and low clouds forced the aircraft to return to the base after only a few hours.

On Wednesday, a high-ranking officer attached to a special investigative branch of the Malaysia police force in Kuala Lumpur told USA TODAY that investigators are pressing relatives of the pilot, Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, for information on his behavior leading up to the March 8 flight.

The pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, 53-year Zaharie Ahmad Shah, is believed to be solely responsible for the flight being taken hundreds of miles off course and there is no evidence of a mechanical failure or hijacking by a passenger, according to an law enforcement official involved in the investigation.

His son, Ahmad Seth, told the New Straits Times that he dismisses wild speculation that his father was a political fanatic who may have hijacked the plane.

"We may not be as close as he travels so much. But I understand him," the 26-year-old language student said in an interview in Subang Jaya, Malaysia.

Appearing composed but tired, he told the Times that "we are just waiting for the right confirmation" of wreckage or bodies.

"I will believe it (that there are no survivors) when I see the proof in front of my eyes," he said.

A relative of a passenger abaoard the missing Malaysia Airlines jet displays a photograph of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with the words, "Please bring back my husband," on Jan. 29 in Putrajaya. The 239 passengers and crew on the missing airliner have been declared dead and their disappearance on March 8, 2014, was formally declared an accident. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Parents whose son was on the missing airliner demand the Malaysian government continue the search for the Malaysia Airlines flight near the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing. The poster reads, "Malaysia Airlines, return my relative to me." (Photo: Andy Wong, AP)

Jiang Hui, left, and Dai Shuqin, relatives of passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight, react after watching a pre-recorded message from Malaysia's Civil Aviation Authority on a laptop in Beijing. Malaysian officials declared the crash of Flight 370 an accident.This clears the way for families to seek compensation, as the plane remains missing. (Photo: Andy Wong, AP)

A photograph released on April 15 shows operators aboard the ADF Ocean Shield prepare to launch a U.S. Navy Bluefin-21 robotic submarine to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet in the Indian Ocean. (Photo: U.S. Navy MC1 Peter D. Blair via AFP/Getty Images)

Royal New Zealand Air Force Sgt. Trent Wyatt searches for the missing Boeing 777 from a P-3 Orion aircraft on April 11 over the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Pool photo by Richard Wainwright AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft flies over the Australian Defense Force vessel Ocean Shield during a search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on April 9 in the southern Indian Ocean. The ship has detected two new underwater signals that may be emanating from the aircraft's black boxes. The Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8. (Photo: LSIS Bradley Darvill, Australian Defense Force, via AP)

Japanese and Malaysian officials watch the departure of a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force P3C plane at Subang airbase near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The plane is flying to Australia to join the search for the missing airliner. (Photo: Ahmad Yusni, epa)

Australian navy Able Seaman Clearance Divers Michael Arnold, left, and Matthew Johnston from the ship ADV Ocean Shield scan the water for debris from the missing jet on April 7 in the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Lt. Ryan Davis, AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Malaysia Air Force C-130 takes off on a search mission for a missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 jet on April 3 from Pearce air force base in Perth, Australia. The airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Pool photo by Rob Griffith)

A crew member aboard a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion aircraft searches for debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on April 2 over the Indian Ocean northwest of Perth, Australia. The Boeing 777 airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Pool photo by Kim Christian EPA)

Malaysia's civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, left, speaks to the media after a private meeting with Chinese relatives of the passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet at a hotel in Bangi near Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: Joshua Paul, AP)

People who are related to passengers on the missing flight talk with members of the Malaysia Airlines special assistance team during a meeting at a hotel in Beijing. (Photo: Wang Zhao, AFP/Getty Images)

A picture on a monitor shows a piece of unknown debris spotted by a Royal New Zealand P-3 Orion during a search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on March 31 in the southern Indian Ocean. The images were sent for analysis to the Rescue Coordination Center and Australian Maritime Safety Authority. (Photo: Pool photo by Rob Griffith)

A relative of a Chinese passenger on the missing jet prays before a briefing with Malaysian officials at a hotel in Beijing. The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Alexander F. Yuan, AP)

South Korean Navy Lieutenant Commander Oh Kang-Min wears a MH370 search-and-rescue team patch as he waits to meet Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at an air base in Perth, Australia. (Photo: Pool photo by Jason Reed)

A Royal Australian Air Force ground crewman stands in front of a Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules after it landed at RAAF Base Pearce on March 29 to help with the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Perth, Australia. (Photo: Rob Griffith, AP)

An Royal Australian Air Force aircraft takes off on a search mission for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet from Pearce Airbase on March 28 in Bullsbrook. Planes and ships raced to a new search zone after investigators suggested the missing Boeing 777 was flying faster than first thought before it plunged into the Indian Ocean. (Photo: Greg Wood, AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines fligh pray in a room at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing. The airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8. (Photo: Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images)

Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lt. Jayson Nichols looks at a map as he flies aboard an AP-3C Orion aircraft during a search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet over the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Pool photo by Michael Martina)

A Thaichote satellite image taken on March 24 and released March 27 by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency shows objects floating in the Indian Ocean near the search area for the missing jet. (Photo: GSTDA via AP)

A Malaysian air force general reacts as he answers a question from a relative of a passenger on a missing Malaysia Airlines jet during a meeting at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing. The relatives were told that they would be brought to the recovery area as the search goes on for wreckage. (Photo: Wang Zhao, AFP/Getty Images)

A satellite from the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency taken on March 23 shows the location of unknown objects in the southern Indian Ocean off the southwestern coast of Perth, Australia. A Malaysia Airlines jet with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: MRSA via Getty Images)

Malaysian Minister of Defense and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein shows pictures of possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on March 26 at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur. The Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Mohd Rasfan, AFP/Getty Images)

A family member, right, of passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane is comforted by a member of the Special Assistance Team at a hotel in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on March 25. (Photo: Joshua Paul, AP)

High school students attend a vigil for passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines jet in Lianyungang, China. The Boeing 777 airliner disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

A grieving Chinese relative yells at journalists during a protest outside the Malaysian Embassy. Angry relatives of the Chinese passengers aboard the missing Boeing 777 marched to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing to demand more answers about the crash. (Photo: Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images)

The new location is based on an assessment by Australian experts, the United States Coast Guard and commercial companies that took into account the weather and the drift any wreckage would be expected to have taken in the 21 days since the plane went missing.